Peter Pan

Peter Pan (character) is a featured article, which means it has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Disney Wiki community. If you see a way this page can be updated or improved without compromising previous work, please feel free to contribute.

Peter travels from the enchanted isle of Never Land all the way to London just to hear Wendy Darling spin tales about him and his adventures. While his ego may seem inflated at times, even his arch-nemesis James Hook, Captain of the Jolly Roger ship, knows that Peter's no ordinary boy. He can fly without wings and match Hook's cutlass with nothing more than a dagger. He is also the undisputed leader of the Lost Boys and allows no breaks in ranks. Time makes little difference to him; when you never grow up, life is nothing but fun, whimsy, and adventure.

Contents

Background

Peter Pan is a young boy who lives on the island of Neverland. He has a pixie called Tinker Bell who is his best friend and sidekick. He is the current leader of the Lost Boys. He spends most days going on adventures and battling the notorious pirate Captain Hook.

An earlier story idea involved Peter's birth and how he came to be. When he was an infant, fairies entered his home and took him away to Neverland. When Peter returned, he discovered another baby in his mother's bed. Feeling rejected and forgotten, Peter left and returned to Neverland - now his home. Eventually, Peter met Tinker Bell and gathered a group of younger kids and create the Lost Boys. The idea was dropped early in production as Walt Disney believed that how Peter came to be was another story.

Personality

“He flies without wings. His shadow leads a merry little life of its own. Face-to-face with the terrible Captain Hook, Peter dispatches that pirate with jaunty ease. Peter is at home with mermaids and understands their language. He is twelve years old forever simply because he refuses to grow up beyond that comfortable age. Most remarkable of all, he knows where Never Land is and how to get there.”

Peter Pan is incredibly adventurous and daring. His favorite activities include battling pirates, engaging in friendly wars with the Indians, and listening to Wendy's stories of his adventures. Being a young boy, Peter can be rather impractical and conceited at times, but when it comes to rescuing his friends, he is far more mature than any adult can be. He is respected and loved by nearly every inhabitant of Never Land with the exception of Captain Hook (and his crew) who despises Peter for cutting off his hand and feeding it to the crocodile during their first battle. Ever since, Peter and Hook have been at each other's throats constantly, battling in the hope that one would finally "walk the plank." One of the many things Peter discards is adulthood. This drove him to create a team of kids who also desire to stay young who he deems the Lost Boys. One can say Peter stands as a father figure for the group as well. Peter's most trusted companion is Tinker Bell. Even though they have a close best friend relationship, it is obvious Tink has strong feelings for Peter. Whether or not he is actually aware is currently unknown, although, in the first film, when Tink was close to death, Peter stated: "Don't you understand, Tink, you mean more to me than anything in the world!"

Despite being heroic and charming, Pan can be quite cocky and being an immortal child somewhat he can also be quite immature. And as such, he enjoys goofing off, listening to stories, playing "pretend", and parties with his friends. Peter's youthful nature symbolizes his place in childhood wonder. Even so, Peter can also be very adult. By the end of the film, despite proclaiming his hatred for adulthood with great intensity, Peter eventually comes to put his more childlike nature aside, for the sake of protecting Tinker Bell, Wendy, her brothers, and the Lost Boys. With this, he brings himself to serve as a more adult figure, by risking his life for the sake of his loved ones, and selflessly escorting Wendy and her brothers home to London, despite his desire to have them stay.

This directly ties into his dynamic with Captain Hook who, despite Peter developing into a child with an adult mindset, is very much an adult with a more childish mindset, being loud, overly commanding, dependent on others, and prone to tantrums.

Design

Many of Walt Disney's envisioned characters went through an evolution of designs, and Peter Pan is no exception. Most model sheets depicted Peter as a small little boy but soon later changed into more of a fairy tale-like creature. Finally, Peter was given the look of a nearly teenaged boy. His outfit is green resembling an elf's attire with a red feather on his Robin Hood-like hat. His shoes are dirty blonde and he holds a belt around his waist which holds his dagger.

Powers and Abilities

Flight: Peter Pan's most unique trait is his ability to fly without any physical methods, he uses this to gain the advantage on those who cannot.

Semi-Immortality: Peter Pan cannot die of old age, but it is never stated whether or not he can survive death.

Eternal Youth: Peter Pan cannot age due to living in Neverland which his claims suggests that it prevents people from aging.

Knife-Fighting: Peter Pan is very skilled with his trusty knife, able to wield it with such skill he can fight a master swordsman, like his nemesis Captain Hook, and hold his own. However, Peter often fights while flying, which gives him an edge; when he fights Hook without flying, he is almost killed.

Impersonations: Peter Pan has an uncanny talent for impersonating others' voices, as he does when he imitates Hook and tries to trick Mr. Smee into taking Tiger Lily back to her people. In Kingdom Hearts, he imitates Smee to lure out Hook, and in both cases, Smee and Hook are fooled.

Appearances

Peter first appears returning to Wendy's home to retrieve his shadow (bringing Tinker Bell in tow), but accidentally wakes up Wendy, John and Michael in the process while he is chasing it. After Wendy sews it back on, they begin to talk, during which time Wendy reveals she does not want to grow up. Peter then decides to take Wendy and her brothers to Never Land so she will never have to grow up, and for Wendy to be a mother of the Lost Boys. Once they arrive, they are attacked by Captain Hook, who assaults them with his cannon. While he distracts the pirates, Peter orders Tinker Bell to take the Darlings to safety, only to find that Tinker Bell had attempted to have the Lost Boys kill his new friend Wendy (by telling them that Pan told her Wendy was a terrible "Wendy bird" and that they were ordered to shoot her down). Peter swoops in just in time to save Wendy, and after chastising the boys, learns that Tinker Bell was the mastermind and they had been tricked. Peter angrily tells Tink she is banished permanently, though Wendy pleads him not to be that harsh. He tells her she can come back within a few days, but Tink is already gone, still believing she can never return to Peter's side. After this, Peter takes Wendy to see the mermaids of Mermaid Lagoon. While there, they spy Captain Hook and his right-hand man, Mr. Smee, with the Indian princess Tiger Lily as a captive, rowing toward Skull Rock, where they plan to interrogate her.

Peter and Wendy investigate and find that Hook is planning to learn the location of Peter's hideout. Peter then fakes Hook's voice toward Smee to convince him to free the Princess, and Peter is able to rescues Tiger Lily. Although Smee proves to be gullible, Hook catches Peter and they begin a bout of swordplay. Ultimately, Peter's ability to fly gives him the upper hand, and he escapes with Tiger Lily and Wendy. For his bravery, Peter is rewarded by Tiger Lily's father the Indian Chief, who crowns Peter "Little Flying Eagle," thus making him another chief of the Indians. Peter then returns home with the Darlings and the Lost Boys. Peter realizes Wendy is ready to return home and, even worse for Peter, the Lost Boys wish to have a real mother and return home with Wendy. Peter tells them once they grow up, they can never return. Peter really does not worry knowing they will return eventually. Unbeknownst to Peter, however, his friends are actually kidnapped by Hook and his crew the moment they exit Hangman's Tree.

Peter is then a victim of Hook's newest scheme: Hook plants a bomb in Peter's home while he and Tinker Bell are inside it. While Peter has truly survived and unharmed, Tinker Bell is fatally injured and Hangman's Tree has been destroyed. While she tells Peter that Hook has Wendy and the boys and that he needs to save them, he refuses to leave her and begs her to stay alive, saying that he loves her more than anything. Together, Peter and Tinker Bell fly over to The Jolly Roger ship to battle the pirates. After the pirates are done with, Peter takes on Hook alone atop the ship. As Hook is about to strike Peter in the back while he is off guard, Wendy quickly warns him, having Peter fly out of the way and leaving Hook to plummet into the sea where he is chased away by the crocodile. The Lost Boys, Michael, John, Tinker Bell and Wendy all celebrate Pan's victory. Peter commands Tink to cover the ship in pixie dust so that he may drop Wendy and her brothers off home to London.

Peter and Tinker Bell are out and about in Never Land and pay Hook a little visit, only to discover Hook has a girl being held captive, who the Captain claims to be Wendy. Pan becomes serious and battles the Captain to rescue his friend. After Hook is defeated, he frees the girl, but instead of reuniting with Wendy, he meets her daughter Jane, who unlike Wendy is rather practical.

He takes the newcomer to his hideout and introduces her to the Lost Boys. The boys begin to surround her, asking to play all sorts of games and activities, which causes Jane to lose her temper and storm off. Peter and Tinker Bell follow her and witness her collecting supplies and boarding them on a raft. After the failed attempt to ride off home, Peter informs her that the only way to go home is to fly. He takes her on a lesson, and oblivious to Peter, Captain Hook is spying on them and plans to use Jane's desires to get home against his enemies. Jane's first take-off fails. Peter finds her beloved notepad and begins playing rugby with it. It is accidentally eaten by Cubby, causing Jane to yet again lose her temper to the point where she announces that she does not believe in fairies. Jane's non-belief causes Tinker Bell to become ill.

The only way to save Tink is to have Jane believe again in magic. The friends set off to find her, but she finds them instead. She suggests playing treasure hunt (as part of Hook's plan to retrieve his treasure in exchange for giving her a ride home), to which Peter agrees. She finds the treasure, but she changes her mind about Hook, but Tootles finds their communication whistle and unknowingly alerts Hook. Peter angrily calls Jane a traitor and warns that Tink's light is going out. Jane rushes there while Peter and the boys are captured and taken to Hook's ship.

Peter, being strapped to an anchor, is about to walk the plank until Jane arrives with Tinker Bell fully charged. She frees Peter and the Lost Boys until Hook traps her by the neck with his hook. Peter returns the favor and cuts Hook loose falling through the ship and sinking with it until he and his crew are chased by the octopus. Peter personally escorts Jane back to London with the Lost Boys. Peter and Tink reunite with the now grown-up Wendy. Originally upset at the fact that Wendy has changed by growing up, Peter happily accepts it after Wendy assures him that even though she has grown up, she has not really changed and still believes in him. After the reunion, Peter and Tink watch Wendy and her children happily greet Jane's father as he returns from war, and they then fly back to Never Land.

Peter makes numerous appearances in the television series House of Mouse.

Peter's most notable appearance is in the episode "Donald Wants to Fly". Peter and the Lost Boys are a band that was scheduled to perform at the club that night and are late for the show. Mickey sends Iago to find them. While Mickey is gone, Donald spends the night trying to fly. After Peter finally arrives, he teaches Donald how to fly, with the help of pixie dust. At the end of the show, he asks Mickey and Minnie to visit him in Never Land and that he had managed to make a cabana for them at Mermaid Lagoon.

In the episode "Super Goof", he is seen with Tink at a table watching Super Goof fly, during which he commented out of jealousy "So, he can fly, he can fly, he can fly! Who can't?"

While Peter does not make any appearances in the first season of the series, he is mentioned several times by Jake, his crew and even Captain Hook. Peter has gone off to explore the world outside of Never Land and left Jake and his crew to keep Captain Hook at bay. Some of the episodes revolve around a message sent to Jake by Peter to complete a task. In the episode "The Key to Skull Rock", a silhouette in the form of stars are seen in the night sky shaped just like Peter.

For the Halloween episode "Trick or Treasure", Jake dresses as Peter, while at the end of the Christmas episode "It's a Winter Never Land!", Peter leaves gifts and a Forever tree, and a snowflake with his silhouette is seen flowing through the icy night sky as well as an echoed laugh from Peter.

Peter makes an appearance in the special episode Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Peter Pan Returns. In the special, Peter returns to Never Land to recruit Jake, Izzy, Cubby and Skully to find his shadow. Without his shadow, Peter is unable to fly, causing more problems for the heroes and giving a plus to the revenge-seeking Captain Hook. Eventually, Peter and the shadow are rejoined and leave Never Land once again to explore new parts of the world. However, Peter promises that he will be back soon.

Peter returns once again in the special Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Jake Saves Bucky, when the pirates lose their ship Bucky to Captain Hook in a race against The Jolly Roger. Jake and the crew call Peter for help and the flying boy is able to learn that Jake and his crew can win Bucky back if they battle the Mighty Dragon and retrieve the legendary golden bell. The heroes do so, and Bucky is saved and Peter leaves once again to continue exploring the world.

Peter reappears once again in the special Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Never Land Rescue under the disguise of the mysterious figure known as "The Guardian." Who explain that only the pirate who truly believes in himself can save Never Land from vanishing completely, Jake must break off from the rest of his crew and go alone on a mission to save the Forever Tree, the source of magic throughout all of Never Land.

Cameos

Peter makes a cameo appearance at the end of The Lion King 1½, calling the Lost Boys to their theater seats with his rooster crow.

Live-action appearances

Peter Pan appears as a major character in the first half of the third season of the ABC fairy tale drama series Once Upon a Time. Here, however, he appears as a ruthless villain as opposed to the benevolent persona commonly seen in various media, specifically Disney. He is portrayed by Robbie Kay.

Peter Pan began as Malcolm, the father of Rumplestiltskin, a onetime lover of the Black Fairy, the grandfather of Baelfire and Gideon, and the great-grandfather of Henry Mills. Malcolm originally left his son in the care of two spinners, who gave Rumplestiltskin a magical bean to create a portal to leave his careless father. Using the magic bean, Malcolm and Rumplestiltskin travelled to Neverland, a place which Malcolm envisioned in his dreams. Upon arrival, Malcolm discovered he could not fly like in his dreams, and the Shadow told him this is because he did not belong on the island as it was only for children. Realizing that he could not be a child as he was a father, Malcolm forced Rumplestiltskin to be taken home by the Shadow. Malcolm transformed into his younger self, adopting the name of Peter Pan (which he named himself after Rumplestiltskin's doll). The Shadow informed Pan that his youth is limited, and he will die when the hourglass of Skull Rock is complete.

The Shadow arrives with a boy named Baelfire (who, unbeknownst to him, is his grandson). Wendy Darling then arrives in order to save him, but Pan decides to keep her prison and blackmails John and Michael Darling to help him with his tasks, in exchange for their sister Wendy's life.

When the heroes arrive on Neverland in search of Henry, Pan appears to him as a fugitive boy pretending to escape from the Lost Boys. He "befriends" Henry who is also attempting to escape upon arriving in Neverland, following his kidnap from Storybrooke. He later reveals his true identity and tells Henry he possesses "the heart of the truest believer," which he now owns. Pan plots to sacrifice Henry to gain his youth as his time as a young boy begins to fade away. However, Emma, along with a team of heroes (being Snow White, Prince Charming, Rumplestiltskin, Queen Regina and Captain Hook) comes to retrieve the boy.

The battle between the parties last for days, and eventually they retrieve Henry and return to their home in the real world, known as Storybrooke, with Pan imprisoned. Pan, however, managed to switch his body with Henry's. Once they arrived in Storybrooke, Pan (in Henry's body) orders the Shadow to kill Mother Superior after reading Henry's book. He then steals the original curse from Regina that created Storybrooke, planning to enact it to turn the town into "The New Neverland." Emma soon finds out Henry is not who he seems, and the heroes are able to find out the truth, eventually switching the two bodies back. His plot is successful, though before it takes place, Gold manages to find a way to defeat Pan by sacrificing himself with the Dark One's dagger, thus ending his reign.

He returned in the second half of the fifth season when the heroes (led by his son) arrived in the Underworld to rescue Hook. Upon their arrival, Pan immediately approaches Gold and offers him a deal - one of Gold's current allies would stay behind, and Pan would return in his place. At this point, Gold refuses, and Pan hands over the Ale of Seonaidh, the means Emma later uses to contact Hook.

However, after Hades backs Gold into corner, Gold forms a partnership with Pan, and the two sorcerers kidnap Hades's true love Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West. Then the Stiltskins offered Hades a counterproposal - he tears up the contract (which stated that Gold owed Hades his second-born child, Gideon) and then he would get the Witch. But after Hades tears up the contract, Pan attempts to steal Zelena's heart, hoping to use it to return to life. This attempt is prevented by the timely arrival of Emma, who rescues Zelena. Pan questioned why the Savior would be helping the king of death, and Emma pointed out that Hades promised to help them get on. Gold then warned her that she had picked the wrong side, but Emma then questions why the Dark One was still there since he had already gotten what he wanted. In response, Gold abandoned his father. Outnumbered, Pan is also forced to retreat.

Later, Pan tracks his son down and hands him Pandora's box, which he says Gold could use to more easily transport his wife Belle (who is under a sleeping curse, provided by Zelena) to Storybrooke. As a price of this gift, Gold was to steal Robin Hood's heart and give it to Pan, allowing the deceased sorcerer to return to life. However, the Dark One betrayed his father and instead inserted him with a sample of water from the River of Lost Souls, damning him for eternity. As Pan died, Gold reiterated the statement he gave his father the first time he killed him: "Villains don't get happy endings."

Video games

In the game, the Disney Villains stole and changed the ending of their stories so that they would succeed. Captain Hook stole Peter's story changing Peter into an elderly man so he is unable to battle. Jiminy Cricket and the game's player arrive to battle Hook in Peter's place. Once defeated, they restore the story reverting Peter to his original age.

Peter Pan first appears in Kingdom Hearts in Neverland, and joins Sora's party in search of Wendy and save her from the grip of Captain Hook. He helps Sora, Donald and Goofy in their search for King Mickey, Riku and Kairi, though he claims to do it only for Wendy. When they find Wendy, he becomes sympathetic to Sora, and returns to help fight Captain Hook after taking Wendy to safety. Once the captain is defeated, they go to Clock Tower, where Sora seals the keyhole and Peter sends Tinker Bell to accompany Sora on his journey, making her a summon ally.

Peter Pan returns to help defeat the mysterious Phantom that attacks the Clock Tower after the completion of the Final Keyhole in Hollow Bastion.

Peter Pan returns ten years before Kingdom Hearts in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. He encounters Terra on Skull Rock, where Terra attacks him, Captain Hook having tricked him into believing Peter Pan had stolen his treasure. They continue until the Lost Boys appear and clear up the misunderstanding. Unversed then attack, but Terra fights them off. Later, Peter comes into contact with Ventus, who has just defeated Hook in battle and whom leaves a wooden keyblade in Peter's treasure chest so that they may remember them. Later on, Peter meets Aqua, who finds their treasure map. Peter makes Aqua the leader of the group to find their treasure, which Hook has stolen again. When Aqua finds the wooden keyblade, Peter tells her that Ven left it there.

During the end credits, Peter is shown having stolen Hook's hat after recovering their treasure.

Peter appears as a meet-and-greet character outside his attraction in Fantasyland. Within his attraction's mini-game, Lost Boy Cubby has been kidnapped by Captain Hook, so Peter journeys to London to recruit the player to help him. They fly to Never Land, where they battle the pirates and then fly around the pirate ship to distract the pirates so that Tinker Bell can free Cubby.

Peter also gives several missions to the player throughout the game, including one that involves finding his shadow. At one point, Peter and the player plan on sword-fighting with Hook and to do so, the player must pull out the legendary Sword in the Stone. After the sword is retrieved, Peter briefly trains the player to make sure they are prepared.

Peter makes an appearance as a townsperson in the Disney INFINITY series. He was also going to be playable for the third game in 2016, having been chosen by a group of Toy Box Artists,[1][2] but after the Disney INFINITY series was confirmed to have been discontinued in May 2016,[3] it was implied that Peter was canceled.

Peter also appeared in the pirate-themed segment of the former stage show, Dream Along With Mickey, at the Magic Kingdom theme park. Here, he and Wendy show Donald and Goofy the dreams of adventure. He also battles Captain Hook in a sword fight and reappears during the grand finale.

Peter is the lead character in the nighttime spectacular, Disney Dreams!. Here, Peter and Wendy are about to take a flight together when Peter's shadow unleashes some of the magic from the Second Star to the Right. Soon enough, the shadow is captured by some of the Disney Villains, led by Captain Hook. With the help of Tinker Bell, Peter is able to defeat the goons, save his shadow, and restore the star's magic.

Gallery

Trivia

Peter Pan in the Disney movie is one of the few adaptations of the J.M. Barrie play where he is played by a male actor. In most versions, he is played by a female actress to resemble the pre-pubescent vocal styles and build of a young boy.

In Never Land, people never grow up. It is never confirmed how long Peter's been on the island or his actual age. It could be possible that Peter's hundreds or thousands of years old.

James M. Barrie had two inspirations for Peter Pan's name. The first is the mischievous Greek God, "Pan." Peter's other namesake was Peter Llewelyn-Davies, who was one of the sons of his friend Sylvia Llewelyn-Davies. Peter and his brothers were the basis for Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.

Peter Pan was nominated for AFI's 100 Year...100 Hero and Villain list, one of the three animated heroes and one of three Disney heroes, along with Buzz Lightyear, Mary Poppins and Belle. Unfortunately, none of them made the cut.

Not counting Mr. and Mrs. Darling, Peter Pan ironically enough is the only and main character in the film that does not sing. He does, however, sing for the first time in House of Mouse, in the episode "Donald Wants to Fly", and also sings in Peter Pan Returns.

According to James Barrie, the depiction of Peter Pan as "the boy who wouldn't grow up" was the result of him when he was younger hearing that his friend's older brother had drowned in a lake covered by thin ice to save him from doing the same. The exact same backstory was used to create that of Jack Frost's in the 2012 DreamWorks animated film Rise of the Guardians.

For Once Upon a Time, his casting call, using the codename "Rufio," describes him as "in his teens, and is a mischievous and devious Lost Boy".